Home » Search Center » Results: J. Robert Bragonier
Results for "J. Robert Bragonier"
Chuck Hedges: Just for Fun
by J. Robert Bragonier
Some elitists persist in thinking that, despite the history of the art form, legitimate jazz today is only made in New York City. Others will agree in concept only if the West Coast is included as well. For those who disagree with both groups, Arbors Records has been a boon. Many releases on this label feature ...
Chuck Hedges and The Milwaukee Connection: Just Jammin
by J. Robert Bragonier
Chuck Hedges would agree that he is a nut who didn’t fall far from the tree. Chicago born and bred, the talented clarinetist settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after touring with Wild Bill Davison, and he still commutes to the Windy City for a regular gig at Andy’s. But he also appreciates jamming with his Wisconsin neighbors, ...
Eldar Djangirov Trio: Handprints
by J. Robert Bragonier
It was the summer of 1996, and Charles McWhorter, a jazz aficionado from New York, was attending a jazz festival in Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, Russia. He could scarcely believe his eyes: the youngster creating the remarkably sophisticated piano jazz to which he was listening was only nine years old! McWhorter immediately invited Eldar ...
Ellen Rowe: Sylvan Way
by J. Robert Bragonier
Jazz pianist and composer Ellen Rowe currently serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan. Sylvan Way is her first CD as leader; she has been a guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz on National Public Radio and has performed with jazz artists such as Kenny Wheeler, Tim Ries, ...
Wayne Escoffery: Times Change
by J. Robert Bragonier
Times Change represents the debut album as leader for Wayne Escoffery, whom you may recognize as saxophonist with the Eric Reed Band. While attending the Hartt School, Escoffery studied with Jackie McLean, and the latter’s influence is apparent in his knowledge of jazz history, lean, angular harmonies and muscular tone. Not surprisingly, Escoffery lists Sonny Stitt ...
Billy Stritch: Jazz Live
by J. Robert Bragonier
Being a “left coaster,” I was not familiar with the name of Billy Stritch, so this has been a most felicitous introduction. As musical supervisor, pianist and arranger for Liza Minnelli, Stritch is probably better known on the cabaret circuit. But, as attested to by being named “Best Jazz Instrumentalist” by the Manhattan Association of Clubs ...
Christine Andreas: The Carlyle Set
by J. Robert Bragonier
What, in fact, is a jazz singer? That’s ultimately a question I hate asking, or being asked. I’d like to believe, with Duke Ellington, that there are just two kinds of music, good and bad. But, for those of us who fear for the future of jazz, the music we love, it rarely seems as simple ...
Carol Sloane: Something Cool
by J. Robert Bragonier
Carol Sloane has spent more than fifty years as a jazz singer, and she sings with as much sensitivity and feeling as anyone in the business. This album was recorded in 1978 and released the following year; she had made two prior Columbia records in the early ‘60s, and in 1977, two additional albums were released ...
Daniela Schachter: Daniela Schachter
by J. Robert Bragonier
Just about the time I get discouraged about the future of jazz, a CD like this crosses my path and I am reassured once again. Italian pianist, composer and arranger Daniela Schächter began studying piano at the age of eight, and by her mid-teens she was performing professionally in Italy and Sicily, in addition to session ...
Terry Gordon Quintet: Contemplations
by J. Robert Bragonier
The Terry Gordon Quintet has made music as a group for more than a decade, and it shows: their ensemble is tight and intuitive, their soloing bright and confident, and their improvisation brash and innovative. Contemplations (2002) is their second CD; their first, Wakeup Call, was released in 1996. Many of these nine ...
